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shihalyfie · 4 years ago

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The difference between the friend dynamics in the Adventure and 02 groups

This is a point I’ve reiterated in a lot of my 02-based metas, but there is a fairly distinct difference between the Adventure Chosen Children having a tight, deep bond and yet not quite being friends in “social life”, whereas the 02 group was a much tighter group on a social level. I always feel that I need to be really careful about saying this, because if I don’t word it carefully, it sounds like I’m trivializing the Adventure group’s bonds (plus, a lot of Adventure diehards will get very upset at you for suggesting this no matter how you put it), so I thought I should write something a bit more in-depth about it.

I think a lot of of this ultimately ties into what each series was about. The fact that Adventure was meant to be a series about “self-recognition of the individual” whereas 02 was about “relationships with others” has been pointed out by many a fan (and official staff too, while we’re at it), and it naturally lends to how the characters and the relationships between them will have a fundamental difference.

The idea that the Adventure group wouldn’t be the type to get together all that easily never really took that long after Adventure to set in. Of course, Our War Game! having this as a plot point also had a meta purpose (basically, limiting the number of people who could participate in the Diablomon battle), but it also has a very important point behind it: the Adventure kids’ social lives were never all that intertwined.

Again, this is something that sounds really awful to say without further qualification. What do you mean, the Adventure kids weren’t friends? Does that mean their entire adventure was for nothing? Did they go through all that only to forget about each other right after it?!

Well, no, that’s kind of exaggeration. I think to properly flesh out the nature of the issue, it’s important to define the differing ways you can be friends with someone. Imagine that you go on the best vacation in your life. You meet a handful of people there. You swap stories and get life-changing advice. You take commemorative photos after some really spectacular experiences. You swap numbers and social media contacts and then you go home. Are you going to keep in touch every so often with the people who gave you some very important advice, and maybe check on their important life events or organize a reunion sometime in the future? Very possibly! Does that mean everyone you met at that trip will now be regularly going out for lunch with you every week now?...Probably not, especially if you already have friends from school. That doesn’t mean you aren’t friends with the important people you met during that best life-changing vacation; it just means that they fill a very different niche in your life from the friends who don’t necessarily understand the life-changing vacation but have the free time to chat with you over lunch.

When the Adventure group found themselves pulled into the Digital World during summer camp, they had already come from very different social spheres. In short:

Taichi, Sora, and Koushirou were the only ones with a background of knowing each other beforehand, thanks to being in the soccer club;

Yamato went to the same school as the others but was a stranger to them, to the point people didn’t even realize Takeru was his brother at first;

Mimi had her own friend circle (see Adventure episode 29);

Jou was assigned as Mimi’s camp group leader but had no other prior relation to her, and Yamato didn’t even initially know his age;

Takeru wasn’t even supposed to be there since he didn’t go to their school and was only tagging along with Yamato;

Hikari was brought halfway into the adventure by virtue of being the eighth Chosen and Taichi’s sister.

Although six of the eight come from the same school, you can see that they’re basically “kids brought together by a certain circumstance” -- they’re not kids who would have normally come into each other’s purview had it not been for this. Which also means that as soon as their adventure ended and some years passed, the aspects of their real lives and social circles started kicking back in:

Taichi continued soccer;

Yamato formed a band (and presumably had a good relationship with his own bandmates);

Sora quit soccer for tennis;

Koushirou quit soccer for the computer club;

Mimi moved to the US;

Jou started attending a private school outside Odaiba;

Takeru and Hikari were never in their age group to begin with.

In the case of Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Koushirou, it’s representative of how, although they originally had a shared interest in soccer, ultimately, they started to drift into their own specialties. Again, remember that Adventure was a series fundamentally about finding yourself and finding your own path, and all of these choices actually tie into their character arcs: Taichi is a straightforward person and a natural, charismatic leader, meaning soccer was good for him to begin with; Yamato learned to become more sociable and make friends at school; Sora started playing tennis as part of properly reconciling with her mother, and Koushirou decided to pursue a club relevant to his actual interests instead of one purely so that he could have minimal presence in it.

Mimi’s moving to the US is an interesting case because it’s likely because she’s often described (by both fans and official staff) as someone who is easily likeable and can get along with practically anyone. Considering that she’s constantly considerate of others and lacking in condescension or malice, it’s easy to see why; her infamous bouts of complaining were largely because she was under a lot of stress at the time of Adventure’s events (it’s even said that her cracking under pressure was meant to be representative of how an ordinary child her age would react to the situation), and otherwise she has no problems making friends -- hence why she was shown in Adventure episode 29 as already having friends in Taako and Mii-chan that she presumably hung out with prior to the events of the series. So in moving to the US, the point is made that Mimi could move to an entire other country and still hit it up with people there (and she does, given how she makes friends in Michael and the other American Chosen without issue). So thus, Mimi’s moving is also part of her own path -- becoming an effective “ambassador” between international Chosen as they start to pop up all over the globe.

As for Jou, his character arc has heavily to do with the fact that he’s always been on the “elite” academic track -- Japanese school entrance exams stretch back as far as high school, so the fight to get into medical school comes back as early as here, and since the events of Adventure helped Jou come to terms with why he wanted to be a doctor rather than just following his father’s wishes, it’s understandable that he would now be putting everything into that goal -- even if it means going to a different school outside Odaiba and committing himself to the prep school life. And, generally speaking, the other kids respect that too, given that the only time they tried to pull him from it was a time they were literally suffocating on the spot and needed Ikkakumon’s specific backup badly (02 episode 16).

And finally, Takeru and Hikari? The fact that they’re that much younger than the others in this group really is a big deal. When they’re on something “purpose-based” like an adventure, of course the others will have no problem keeping them around, and of course they’ll be happy to participate with these older kids. But if we’re talking about mundane, ordinary life -- there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest they really would prefer the company of kids so much older than them for conversations over lunch. This is especially because it’s hard to imagine they didn’t have other friends at school, too.

Not that they mind being around all these older kids when the time calls for it, but as far as socialization goes, they have their own lives to live. And that’s fine; again, Adventure was a narrative about kids coming to terms with themselves and what they wanted, and it’s not their fault for prioritizing those paths and forming their own social circles rather than insisting on being a specific eight-person group (no matter how much the fanbase wants to have the romantic image of them sticking together all the time no matter what).

Plus, it’s not like they all completely drifted apart and cut each other off!

Just because they’re not “daily life friends” doesn’t mean they’re not still important to each other. 02 episode 38 has Taichi, Sora, Jou, and Koushirou show up for Yamato’s concert -- it’s unlikely they were attending every single one of his concerts, but this was a very important one that was going to be broadcast on TV, so it’s only natural that even Jou (who, again, doesn’t go to school in Odaiba anymore) would still come to support him.

In fact, the fact they can come together when a situation like this happens even without necessarily meeting up every single day of their lives is probably a testament to how strong that bond is in itself. They don’t need to hang out once a day or week to maintain their friendship, and having other friends they’d rather hang out with throughout the day or invite to events doesn’t necessarily mean the other Adventure kids are less worthy friends to them. That experience in August 1999 was so impactful on all of them that they will never forget it, so even if they spent quite a long amount of time not interacting with each other, when a circumstance that necessitates them coming together does bring them together, they can hit it off like nothing happened. Think about how you might have an important friend that you may not chat with on a daily basis, but you talk to them once in a while and hit it off like you never had a break in the conversation. But because that strong bond is based on that one very specific experience that happened in one specific summer, it’s only natural that the majority of meetups over this are going to be based on something to do with that experience, like Digimon incidents; for ordinary things like “band concerts” or “club activities”, it’ll naturally be easier to stick around friends who have more similar social interests, like fellow band or club members.

On the other hand, this is very much not the case for the 02 group.

To understand why the 02 group has a fundamentally different dynamic, we need to dial back to a little before the actual “adventure” part of 02 started.

Right off the bat, we see:

Takeru moves to Odaiba from Sangenjaya, and specifically to the same building Miyako and Iori live in, meaning he’ll be walking to school with them every day;

02 episode 7 indicates that the Motomiya and Yagami families live in the same apartment complex, meaning Daisuke and Hikari are also likely to walk to school together;

Miyako and Iori are established as having already long hit it off with each other as neighbors;

Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru end up in the same class (with Daisuke and Hikari having known each other already).

In other words: Even before anything to do with Digimon had been introduced (or re-introduced, technically) into their lives, the kids were already being thrown into each other’s social circles. You could technically argue that Daisuke wouldn’t have necessarily met Miyako and Iori if not for the Digimon incident coming into his life later in the episode, but Takeru being neighbors with them basically fills in all of the gaps here -- unlike with the Adventure kids where the adventure in August 1999 threw them together when they likely wouldn’t have been in the same social circle otherwise, the 02 kids are the social circle even independently of the Digimon incidents. In fact, due to being functionally neighbors, there are a lot of ways these kids’ social lives intersect, with Daisuke and Miyako being Taichi and Koushirou’s juniors, Miyako working for Yamato’s band, Yamato being classmates with Miyako’s sister Chizuru, and Jun and Miyako’s other sister Momoe being classmates.

Since, again, 02 was a series fundamentally structured on examining relationships, you can basically view Adventure being a series about “bringing some people together as they find self-assertion even when they’re from different social circles” while 02 follows that up with “so if they were in the same social circle, how would they deal with that?” -- especially since 02 makes it clear that certain kinds of emotional baggage associated with that can actually make it much more complicated.

A lot of 02′s first half is dedicated to the 02 kids doing completely mundane things that have very little relevance to the Digital World conflict -- watching TV in the computer room (remember: this was before they realized the “genius boy” being covered on the news was actually relevant to this), or having a picnic in the Digital World. Mimi even explicitly points out that this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened with the Adventure kids, but it’s not just because of the fact that Adventure involved a lot of running for their lives! It’s easy to dismiss a lot of what happens in these early episodes as “filler”, but a lot of this is dedicated to depicting how the 02 kids were constantly spending time with each other for reasons completely separated from Digimon incidents. This even includes completely ordinary things like soccer games -- Takeru, Hikari, Miyako, and Iori come to support Daisuke with an obvious motive of seeing him do well, so it’s apparent that they’ve come to enjoy hanging out with him beyond just obligation.

Part of this is because of the different nature of the Digimon conflict that they experienced. The Adventure kids had an experience that really was, functionally, “one” experience -- an extremely formative and important one, but one condensed one that they all experienced together. The nature of what the 02 territory war and conflict was, on the other hand, meant that what the conflict “was” to the 02 kids was of a completely different nature. This wasn’t summer vacation; this involved going back and forth between the fight and real life, to the point where Digimon fighting became integrated into “daily life” -- so of course you’d probably hope that the people you’re fighting with are also people you like to bond with on a social level. “Digimon life” and “social life” became synonymous to them.

And when it all comes down to it, it’s hard to pinpoint a “single experience” that the events of 02 embodied, or at least in the same way August 1999′s adventure was. As much as they were running for their lives, the Adventure kids have the luxury of looking at the events of their series as a formative singular time for them, one that they could even look at nostalgically, but for the 02 kids, it’s hard to condense everything into one singular experience (it’s easy for the audience to see it as one series, but for the kids themselves, it’s a very long chain of vaguely connected events). Actually, most of the year involved fighting with someone who ended up becoming their important friend and the other involved helping him deal with his trauma, so it’s not like everyone would be likely to have the most romantic image of this experience itself to “bond” over as much as they care more about the take-home they got out of it: each other.

One thing that 02 doesn’t really spotlight front and center with its starter cast of characters is that, unlike the Adventure kids, who either came with their own social circles prior to Adventure or eventually developed their own in the course of their lives, it’s heavily implied that the 02 kids actually had difficulty making other friends even on a social level, or at least were likely to be in a situation where the other 02 kids really were better company than their other options even for mundane situations. This is especially in the case of the newly introduced characters, who are, effectively, a bit socially “displaced” from others and likely to have struggles fitting in.

There are quite a few signs that Daisuke had serious difficulty making friends prior to the events of the series (with Hikari being the closest thing he had to one), and the fact that the 12-year-old Miyako is portrayed as constantly hanging out with the 9-year-old Iori, brought together by being neighbors, rather than people closer to their own ages stands out. Iori is particularly interesting in that, unlike with Takeru and Hikari, who were portrayed as kids likely to socialize better with those their own age, Iori’s unusual maturity for his age heavily implies that he would actually be out of place with his classroom peers (a very common phenomenon for some people in real life, too!). 02 episode 3 depicting him left alone in the classroom with only a teacher to watch him while his stubborn fixation on principles leaves him slow to finish his lunch says a lot -- his own behavior is liable to isolate him from others, and it’s thus not all that surprising he ended up bonding with some kids who are older than him and more accepting (and even treat him with proper respect, too).

Takeru and Hikari, too. There’s been a lot of arguments over whether the two of them would theoretically be closer to the Adventure kids or the 02 kids, but I would honestly say it’s technically both at once -- they have the same “not socially close, but intuitively understanding” relationship that the Adventure kids all have with each other, but hold the other 02 kids as part of their social circle and hang out with them in “daily life”. So in other words, they have the Adventure kids’ relationship with the other Adventure kids, and the 02 kids’ relationship with the 02 kids. This is presumably why Takeru and Hikari end up hitting it off so well at the start of 02 even though they didn’t interact all that intimately in Adventure; not only do they have that shared experience they intuitively understand, they also were able to start hanging out in day-to-day life and actually, well, socialize.

This applies to them in relation to the rest of the group as well. While neither of them were necessarily portrayed as having social problems, one common thread between the two is that they’re both very emotionally closed-in. Takeru’s response to negativity is to cover it up with smiles, until he can’t hide it anymore and bursts (which scares the hell out of Iori in 02 episode 19 and ultimately forms the basis of their Jogress arc), whereas Hikari has issues vocalizing whenever she’s hurt or in pain (said by herself in 02 episode 31, but with precedent from Adventure episode 48). That means that, even with potential social circles at school, it’s unlikely they necessarily would have had someone they could emotionally bond with deeply off the bat (especially since Takeru had just moved from Sangenjaya), and it’s likely why they kept gravitating towards each other (despite never truly talking about anything in-depth for most of the series) up until the Jogress arc.

In other words, while the Adventure kids’ adventure of self-actualization meant that their relationships to each other were mainly formed on simply understanding that they had a similar experience and empathizing, the 02 kids -- full of a group of somewhat socially maladjusted and out of place kids, plus two who had been on the prior adventure but were young enough to now still be carrying some deep-seated, unresolved emotional baggage -- were in a position where they arguably needed each others’ help to grow.

Jogress isn’t just an obligatory evolution gimmick; it’s something very important to 02 as a series and understanding what it wants to say about relationships. I think one thing that makes me very sad is how often its constant pigeonholing as a gimmick makes me hear people saying that Daisuke and Ken was the only plot-relevant one and the rest were forced “spares”, saying that something like Takeru-Hikari and Miyako-Iori would make more sense. But when the point of the series is about building your relationships from scratch and learning to grow together, I really don’t feel that a story about relationships that naturally existed already would have helped it nearly as much. It’s not like Daisuke and Ken was that likely of a friendship, either!

This is especially in the case of Takeru and Hikari, who certainly were vibing pretty well with each other, but were still very emotionally closed-in with a lot of emotional baggage until the more to-the-point Miyako and Iori were able to break through their shells. (02 episode 13 is so often considered a “Takeru and Hikari bonding” episode, but while it does do a lot to show off the depth of their relationship that hadn’t been depicted much besides them just hanging out all the time, it also does not solve Hikari’s core problem in nearly the same way Miyako gets to the bottom of it in episode 31.) This is also why Takeru and Hikari have such a different relationship with the 02 kids compared to theirs with the Adventure kids; while they were largely tagging along with the older kids and learning a bit about inner strength back during their summer adventure, the 02 group is the one who not only provided them with friendship on a more equal peer level, but also poked deeply into their emotional issues that they very much needed others to help them out of. These are friends who finally get them.

That Ken ultimately becomes yet another addition to this group of kids in need of friends finding support in each other should go without saying -- after all, it’s made abundantly clear he was very lonely and friendless until Daisuke and the others reached out to him -- but it ultimately culminates in them choosing to integrate this lonely boy from Tamachi into their social life. (Remember: Ken is the only of the six 02 kids to live in Tamachi and not Odaiba, but the last quarter of the series has them going out of their way to meet up.) The episode that establishes that everyone has truly made their peace with Ken and wants to unequivocally support him (with the most originally stubborn against it, Iori, graciously accepting him) is sealed off with a Christmas party. A completely ordinary Christmas party that has nothing to do with the Digimon incidents at hand, where they can play meaningless card games and celebrate the little things like Ken laughing, because it’s not just forgiving him or learning to work with him, but actively enjoying his presence and supporting him.

The Digimon Animation Chronicle profile for Ken in Diablomon Strikes Back refers to him as Daisuke’s “best friend” (親友). Usually, the word for “friends” within Adventure and 02 would be nakama (仲間); you may have heard this word from One Piece fans, but this is a word that roughly means “one of us” and has a stronger emphasis on being in a certain group, or being like-minded. Thus, “you’re a Chosen Child like us,” or, more pertinently, “you have the same goal as us and we’re in this together” (after all, it’s not like being a Chosen Child was ever an exclusive club or anything).

But in the case of Daisuke and Ken’s relationship, it’s not just about having happened to gain a deep bond over the course of 02, it’s that Daisuke now really does have a sense of emotional closeness to Ken that the two are considered best friends by default -- in any situation, despite him living all the way in Tamachi. Even though the franchise loves to put them in the category that “protagonists and rivals” usually get, where most others are ones who tend to have friction but understand each other in the end, Daisuke and Ken are unique in that they’re not like that at all. They have a very straightforward sense of emotionally confiding in each other, at worst maybe lightly bantering a bit, but they are friends before anything else, and that extends to the rest of the 02 group as well.

The aftermath

On its face, it sounds like the 02 kids are getting a pretty luxurious deal -- they got a fun adventure of emotional growth out of it, and they’re tight friends with each other at that! Well, that probably sounds great, but there’s a flip side to all of this.

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, the Adventure kids’ adventure in 1999 was a lot more “romantic” than the 02 kids’ eight-month-long ordeal. Sure, a lot of it definitely was stressful, what with the running for their lives and the scary villains and the emotional conflict, but there was also the part about getting to meet Gennai and the other friendly Digimon around and getting to explore villages. They were on summer break, so they didn’t even really have to worry about school (especially once they realized time dilation was a thing); it’s basically the epitome of the romantic coming-of-age story. (Fun fact: Stand By Me is really culturally influential in Japan.)

02, on the other hand, was an eight-month-long ordeal of having to fight a territory war crammed into the after-hours of school, juggling fighting this war with keeping it from parents, in a fight that would retroactively turn out to be against what would later become a heavily traumatized and beloved friend, plus eventually watching him get subject to even worse trauma. Oh, and the series also ended on witnessing a bunch of deaths (or in other words, the worst New Year’s Eve ever). While it seemed like the kids had the luxury of enjoying the Digital World in ways the Adventure kids couldn’t at first, actually, they didn’t get to enjoy as much of it at all, since they never got to form any lasting relationships with anyone like Gennai or Elecmon. These kids were basically too busy trying to keep each others’ heads on straight to really be able to focus on that.

The comparative mess that the 02 kids went through, and the messes that they kind of are, means that they’re rather dependent on each other for emotional support. This is not inherently a bad thing, mind you; the fact that some people are more independent than others is a simple fact of life, and the 02 kids (whether it’s from naturally being a bit misfit or from the degree of their experiences) being the type who grow together with mutual support isn’t inherently anything bad. It does, however, mean that they’re likely to have some difficulties ahead coming out of 02 as “growing up” conspires to make it more and more difficult for them to stick together -- after all, how many people have actually been able to stick with their elementary school friends all the way into adulthood? This is especially because Japanese high schools admit students by examination, and rank by academic ability; it’s not particularly common for those from the same elementary/middle school to attend the same high school, even if they live close to each other, and it’s very unlikely that all of them will be sticking together in school by that point.

So, how did they fare?

Well, before we get into anything else, we should probably bring up one thing that seems like such a tiny little detail but is actually very important for this: Technology didn’t stagnate at 02′s D-Terminals, and by the time of Kizuna in 2010, smartphones and group chats existed! (Earlier than they did in real life, at that.) This is actually really important because of how much it does for that question of “how to keep in contact when circumstances like school keep you apart” -- especially when the Adventure group would certainly appreciate the method to keep in touch despite their lives largely getting increasingly separate. That, and even more so if other similar technological things like social media existed; there’s a lot of ways to keep in touch despite physical and circumstantial distance.

Of course, they’d been keeping in touch via email since 02, but a group chat is much lower pressure and actively encourages everyone to keep in touch; think about how useful group chats have been for connecting with your own longtime friends. It’s ambiguous whether the 02 group was privy to this particular chat from To Sora given that they were clearly on call for incidents like the Parrotmon one, but it’s also entirely possible that this is a room for The Ones Who Went on That One Adventure in August 1999, especially since they use the Crests as their icons, and the 02 group has their own (let’s be real, they totally would; think about how many Discord servers with overlapping people you might be in right now). This, combined with the fact that the Adventure and 02 groups seem to have formed a sort of recon squad for the increasing number of Digimon incidents in Tokyo, means that there are actually a lot more opportunities to stay involved with each other than ever before!

As it seems, the Adventure group does seem to be rather emotionally close to the point that Taichi is willing to reach out to Yamato simply to dump his emotional troubles about his future career prospects on him (despite them going to very different universities at this point). Yet, at the same time, there’s still a palpable sense of distance going on here, and a depiction of Taichi and Yamato having developed separate social lives and their own friend circles -- Taichi with Morikawa and Nemoto, and Yamato with Abe (their names come from the novel), who are also acquainted with each other enough to talk about career and worry about each other.

When Taichi and Yamato talk over beer, they don’t even have updates on the same people (Yamato has to update Taichi on Sora and Takeru’s status), and ultimately, Yamato comments on their drifting -- saying that it’s a potentially inevitable part of choosing one’s path. It’s not hard to see why he says this; it’s been a recurring theme for them since after the events of Adventure. Sora and Mimi haven’t been around for Digimon incidents lately because of their careers, and it’s highly likely Jou hasn’t either; Koushirou keeps in touch, but our only depictions have been in the range of business and Digimon incidents.

But for the 02 group? Absolutely not.

The Kizuna drama CD has a lot about what the 02 group was doing (and planning to do) during their little “vacation” in New York. In fact, there’s a lot to go on about here:

Daisuke and Takeru show up together even though Iori was allegedly said to be “first” approached, meaning the two of them were basically hanging out anyway.

Daisuke insists on going on a trip that’s about his own personal career with friends -- and not just any friends, but specifically the group of himself, Ken, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, and Hikari. He also wanted his seniors along, but they were too busy -- but it’s pointed out that the other 02 group members aren’t exactly full of free time either, meaning that these five have a special place of importance to Daisuke in his ramen career trip.

Even the Digimon are aware of what the other humans (the ones that aren’t even their partners!) have been up to lately.

Miyako and Hawkmon say that it’s only natural for them to show up when the group is getting together -- i.e. being with this specific company is a fact of life to her, to the point she invents D-3 gate exploitation to be with them.

The group keeps saying “it’s been a while” for periods of time in which it is made pretty obvious it’s actually not a lot of time at all. (Miyako had just left for Spain to the point her coming back elicits an “already?!” kind of reaction, yet that constitutes “a while”, and the most likely very short time between the trip planning and the movie is also apparently “a while”, and it’s very likely that Takeru’s “a while” in greeting Iori may well have not been that long, either.) It really makes you think about how often the people in this group must be meeting up to think that this constitutes “a while”...

Hikari is ready to fight people for denying her the chance to play with Miyako.

Beyond that, they’ve all apparently been regular enough presences in Daisuke’s life for completely offhand comments and actions to have major impacts on his career thoughts.

In the movie itself, Miyako refuses to take on the exact same request that she ultimately gladly participates in with the rest of the 02 group in New York -- presumably, because the fact her friends are there makes it all better.

As it turns out, despite everything -- despite everyone going in completely different directions with their careers, attending different schools (Iori’s still in high school while everyone else is in university!), the 02 group has been maintaining this attitude of going out of their way to hang out with each other, in a sort of “we do it together, or we don’t do it at all” sense. Of course, that’s not to say they’ve all stayed so socially maladjusted that they’ve become completely incapable of making any other friends at all, but there is a very clear, strong preference of them wanting to be in each other’s specific company to the point that they would do ridiculous things to make it work.

So, you might be asking: what’s the trade-off?

Yamato attributes the alienation between the Adventure group to “choosing one’s own path”. Inherently, this is not quite right (nor is the sentiment that “choices are bad” in general), especially considering that Daisuke, Iori, and Hikari already made their choices in path a long time ago, yet are still behaving like this. The question is actually more of priorities; notice that while the older Adventure characters are mainly portrayed in Kizuna as aggressively pursuing career prospects, the 02 characters, despite having their current educational statuses listed in their profiles, simply seem to have this as not an object.

Iori’s still in school uniform; he’s arguably cramming this all between school club obligations. Ken, Miyako, Takeru, and Hikari don’t have their current educational status involved at all, and even though Daisuke’s ramen trip is technically for his future career, he’s also happy to just “play around” about sightseeing (and, again, there’s also no reason he needed to bring his friends for this). Takeru’s working on his novel, but he hasn’t actually decided it’ll be his career yet. It’s not about whether they’ve made choices or not; it’s about the fact they’re going about this remarkably casually to the point where maintaining their relationship with their friends is more important than career. And this extends to the 02 epilogue as well; compared to their seniors’ more prominent history-making careers, the 02 group’s is more low-scale and community-oriented (the only exception being Sora, but even that ties into individual ambition more than anything else, considering that not succeeding her mother is already a pretty big deal in itself).

The take-home

Adventure and 02 are both very well-known for showcasing people with different personalities and goals in life, and celebrating their differences. I think, personally, the difference between the Adventure and 02 groups’ dynamics is also something that reflects on the different ways to live one’s life as well. This is especially something that most of us can probably understand well now that we’re adults looking back at this, especially in light of Kizuna.

There are some of us who really want to do large-scale things in this world, and will need that understanding of the self to get there but may struggle with maintaining consistent friendships on that turbulent path, and have to adapt by managing the different levels of their relationships and learning to get along with different people in different ways. There are some of us who gain happiness more from mutual support with the people around us even if it means not ostensibly achieving as “great” things, and feel most comfortable with a single consistent set of friends. Some of us are in between, or feel elements of both as we try to experiment with things in life (actually, I’m pretty sure that’s probably most of us to some degree).

Think about your own life and future prospects right now, and then think about the friends you may be in touch with, or haven’t been in touch with for a while, or the ones you talk to for different purposes or fulfill different niches in your life. We’re all trying to straddle this balance; there’s no one right way to live.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers

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mozukumi · 3 years ago

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Omg I just went through your entire Mankai Swap tag and I'm !!!!!!!!!!!

I was thinking what if, while Gekka is split up Chikage ends up hiding out at Itaru's school, either as a "transfer student" or pulls a misumi and just starts living in a storage room or something? The first makes more sense to me though. Being Regular Kid Who Goes To School would be a good cover, and assuming he still has his hacking skills, a pretty easy one to do.

Also I am 👀 at the TasuTsumu dynamic here and also VERY curious about the Tenma and Yuki dynamic what with them both being in very different stages in their lives than canon.

ALSO I'm now imagining every soft SakyoIzu moment in Canon but Juban instead (though in this case it may be Banri dropping the hints and Juza just sitting there with mii channel music playing in his head on loop)

AHHHH TYSM FOR BEING INTERESTING IN THIS AU!!! These asks always give me so much energy and strength ^_^

(For those who don't know about mAnkAi swAp, you can find more info about it here! It's an age and role swap AU.)

First of all, I find the idea of Chikage pulling a Misumi to be so charming. I agree that it's not likely or plausible, but it's just so much fun to think about.

We don't know that much about Itaru's school in canon, so I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that it also has rooms for students who want to board at the school, and Itaru is just a commuter student. He could definitely hack himself into the system. Plus it's so funny imagining him trying to be a Normal Teenage Boy. I don't think he'd have trouble with the academic parts, but BOY the social atmosphere would be a challenge for him.

And YEAH Tasutsumu is very different from canon here because they haven't had their big separation moment. Well, aside from no longer being roommates, but all that means is that they can overwork themselves and not have the other notice.

Tenma and Yuki, yes!! They're honestly not as changed as you would probably expect from fully grown adults LOL because I think they're always gonna be bickering with one another. Yuki's main objection to Tenma is that in his career as a fashion designer, he's worked with a lot of hair stylists, and therefore been in a lot of salons, and everytime he sees Tenma on a magazine there's always some gossip about him. So Yuki is like "ya i dont trust u lawl always getting into drama smh".

SNEEFLES THIS IS SO TRUE... juban being adults is smth that can be so important... an idea we've been floating is that um. juza and banri still had their big moment as kids, but juza disappeared before banri could ever find him again to challenge him to a rematch (this is because juza joined the yakuza). And it's been over a decade, so Banri doesn't remember this clearly, but eventually he remembers - so instead of a warm and fluffy childhood flashback, its a HOLY SHIT YOU'RE THE GUY WHO BEAT ME UP THAT ONE TIME!!

Being older and more far removed from his Super Ultra Easy Mode phase, though, Banri would honestly find this hilarious. It probably would endear him to Juza even more. And I adore the idea of Banri being more proactive with Juza and Juza just... not noticing. an important part of idiots in love is the idiots part, after all.

#mAnkAi swAp #a3!#juban #? i always struggle with how to tag these maybe some day ill figure it out

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canyouhearthelight · 5 years ago

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The Miys, Ch. 76

Whew! Enormous Family Dinner is finally done!

This took 2 more chapters than I originally planned, but I feel that holds pretty true for any good conversation you have among your found family... it just never wants to stop!

As always, thank you to @satan-parisienne for being so very, very patient with my ‘hurry up and wait’ style of requesting feedback, especially while you haven’t felt the greatest. You are far better at pointing out “yeah, but this makes sense to LITERALLY NO ONE ELSE” than anyone I will ever know. Also, @baelpenrose for helping me nail some of the dialogue, along with keeping me on track with all the bits and bobs I try to include in a single chapter. Between the two of you, I feel like a better writer every day.

To give an idea of how crazy this chapter was to write, content warnings include mentions of:

Food Painfully spicy food Witches (non specific) Burning witches (the fact it happened) Sex (non explicit) Drugs Paranoia Food aversions

To be clear, none of this occurs on screen with the exception of the foods. But it is all referenced in the conversation within the chapter, so just in case I wanted to make sure to mention it here. I also tried to tag it all.

I managed to calm myself down while Conor and Maverick dragged Sam to get more food. As I wiped the last of the tears from my eyes, Alistair was dutifully telling Arthur some of my more humorous antics. The dry humor and deadpan delivery threatened to put a smile on my long-lost friend’s face.

“It was ginger tea, not green tea,” came Tyche’s voice and she snatched a curried-vegetable wellington out of my hand. Stuffing it in her face, she turned to the teacher-cum-warlord-cum-teacher. “If you ever do or say anything unpleasant to my sister, if you make her even the tiniest bit uncomfortable, I will end you,” she advised jovially.

“I can’t exactly return that threat,” he pointed out, nonplussed. “I probably know more about your reputation than anyone on this ship except Sophia, and I’m not brain-dead enough to think you’re going to hurt her.” He paused before clarifying. “Necessary kicks in the ass notwithstanding. Hey - “

“You have to earn that privilege, professor,” she interrupted. Draping herself over a chair - there weren’t any arms, how was she doing that? - she turned to me. “I like Parvati. Guerilla protest artist in the body of a goddess.”

“Fortunately, humanity progressed past a point where we burn witches at the stake,” Arthur rued in agreement. “Otherwise, I’m pretty sure Ms. Fletcher wouldn’t have made it out of infancy.”

“Certainly no Refugee Guernica,” I agreed with a sigh.

Grey sat down and nodded a greeting before adding “I have come to burn your fields and steal all your women.”

“Our dear Councillor Kalloe certainly seems to worship at that altar,” Alistair commented before I could stop sputtering at the sudden show of humor. His face was entirely innocent when our heads whipped around collectively. “What? There is not enough soundproofing in the several galaxies - “

A dark hand swatted at his face as Derek objected. “Not in front of the dumplings,” he signed before swatting at Alistair some more.

“As a former warlord, I feel like I should object to that,” Arthur directed at Grey. “I mean, I may have burned a few fields, but I never stole all the women…”

I sighed with feigned wistfulness. “I don’t think Parvati had to steal anyone. They probably marched behind her happily, with desperately high hopes.”

Several nods exchanged around the table before Arthur cleared his throat. “Speaking of witches…” He glanced pointedly at Tyche. “I managed to find something from Earth already in the consoles, and I am well aware that Sophia is insane about spice.” More than I did, my sister immediately perked up. “This is something I got to try exactly once in the Before, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.”

“Berbere,” I murmured. I could remember him telling me about it afterward. It was the hottest thing he had eaten in his life, at least at the time.

He nodded in confirmation. “Exactly. But, just a warning before anyone rushes off to try this: it isn’t just spicy in the Scoville sense, this is spicy in the Dune sense of the word.”

A few confused looks exchanged around the table. I threw looks at both Tyche and Arthur asking for permission before explaining. “In the fiction series Dune, there is a drug that is only found naturally on a planet called Arrakis. The drug is nootropic, anti-gerial, and mutagenic, primarily allowing for expanded consciousness, ability to understand fifth and sixth dimensional navigation, and in limited cases, ancestral memory. Although the actual name of the drug is melange, the common name is simply ‘spice’.”

Arthur mimed applause; he had heard me mention my tendency to spout information like a walking encyclopedia, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.

The confused looks cleared up slightly, but there were still more than I would have liked. Grey gently raised a hand for attention. “And… You actually want to eat this?”

I nodded fervently, as did Tyche, although Arthur tilted his head back and forth. “I mean… I believe after the meal I… experienced… I used the phrase ‘what unholy fire did I just put into my body’, but hey. It was delicious, even if the experience was a little closer to fiery transcendence than was altogether comfortable.”

Tyche snorted. “Burning witches at the stake, you mean?”

Ahhh… that was why talking about Parvati made him think of berbere.

“Just don’t give it to Derek, I’m begging you,” he responded. “This is not the ‘understanding eyes of kindly folk who burned witches alive to save their souls’ kind of thing. This is more ‘being consumed in the unholy fire of the most delicious thing you can imagine and seeing the fabric of reality in the process’ kind of thing.” Shuddering dramatically, he glanced at Derek. “Something tells me you would try to hack reality, and we kind of need that to just keep working right now.”

A sudden expression crossed Tyche’s face that I could only describe as looking like the physical manifestation of a click-noise. “Transcendent… I’ve noticed several people on the Ark - and I mean easily over a hundred - acting strange lately. This can’t be related, can it?”

My neck ached in sympathy for the way it would have snapped around, had I not been facing her already. “You’ve noticed it, too?”

Derek tapped the table emphatically, requesting our attention. “Noticed what?”

“People have been unusually antisocial,” Tyche clarified. “Instead of greeting strangers, they look at me skeptically when I say hi.”

I nodded in agreement. “Even people who were very casually friendly in the last year or so, suddenly just nod and duck away to whisper furtively. It would be one thing if I had done something that clearly had a negative impact on the crew, but… I mean, I even see people who are carrying portable habitats for Else eyeing me weirdly.”

If Arthur had cats’ ears, I swear they would have been pricked as far forward as possible - for someone who was suspicious as a default, he looked curious enough to die for the satisfaction of an answer. “How large are these groups? Have you noticed any frequent meetings? Do you ever see people from several groups interacting? Are they quieter when you - or any other outsiders, I guess - approach? Is it always the same people?”

My head spun as I tried to parse out answers. The questions had come rapid-fire, and I realized abruptly that Arthur, for all our digital interaction in the Before, wasn’t used to my auditory processing issues.

Thankfully, our Knights of the Dinner Table arrived from a successful quest, laden with several plates of tidbits and small cups of hot soup. Tyche and I glanced at each other, silently agreeing to suspend the discussion of odd behaviors, before I spoke. “Soup isn’t on the menu, guys.”

“Special request,” Sam insisted carefully. “We all like miso, and it helps digestion.” Without waiting for approval, he took one bowl, scooped all the tofu out and added it to a second bowl, and handed the first bowl to Derek. “No mushy,” he promised sincerely.

I restrained the urge to gape. Never had I seen Sam assert himself like that, and it honestly made me insanely happy to watch. Looking around the table, I saw the slightest twitch of Grey’s mouth. “It is very healthy to be clear about what you want, and builds friendships when you do so for others.”

So they were the culprit behind Sam coming out of his shell. Interesting. “Cheers to insurrection,” I murmured, toasting with my half-gone bloody mary.

“And soup,” Maverick added cheerfully as he accepted the cup with extra tofu.

Not even bothering with the spoon, Conor actually toasted with his soup before downing it in one swallow. “Slainte.”

Thankfully, Tyche and Grey both took much more graceful sips from their small bowls.

Quickly, I sent a message to Arthur to send his questions in writing so that I could answer them fully. Derek also made quick gestures with his datapad, seemingly asking the same thing.

Everyone ignored Derek slipping half his bao back on Sam’s plate.

<< Prev Masterlist Next >>

#the miys #humans are weird #found family #original scifi #original fiction #aliens #apocalypse #tw: food #tw: witches #tw: spicy food #tw: witch burning #tw: drugs #tw: paranoia

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edvonstein · 5 years ago

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So, Game Awards in a few hours.

I don’t care about the awards themselves, but naturally I will tune in because I am Sakurai’s Smash Thrall. That sounds horrifying.

So I wanna put down my hopes, my dreams, my predictions.

First of: Which character we getting in Slot 5 of the Fighter Pass?

KOS-MOS looks like she has a helluva chance now. There is a 4-chan post that got some things already right like the KH3 RE:Mind trailer dropping, or the PC port of Zero Dawn. (KH3 dropped in a Sony direct of sorts instead of at the Game Awards but a: the same thing happened with Resident Evil 3, and both got leaked before the Sony State of the Play thing, so that may well have been damage control. Note that the actual trailer was leaked early, not just info of the trailer’s existence. and b: they might still show up at the game awards, just not as premieres.)

There’s also the thing about Bandai Namco not having another rep despite working on the game, and while Bandai Namco was deconfirmed as getting a rep, I previously made a post about the confusing nature of KOS-MOS’s copyright status, and it seems people count her now as both a Bandai Namco and a Monolith Soft rep, making her all the more fuzzy. (Even if it makes sense for her. Monolith Soft made Xenosaga under Bamco, but Xenoblade under Nintendo.)

There’s the whole Daisy theory issue of having Daisy show up in a tweet celebrating Ultimate’s 1 year anniversary alongside Mario and all five other DLC characters. (Remember that Piranha Plant was DLC originally?) Daisy is named after a Flower, and yellow and orange are Bamco’s colors. KOS-MOS also shares her name basically with the cosmos flower, and is vaguely Bamco.

Color Theory posits that the final Fighters Pass character will get an orange background, and again, orange fits Bamco.

Also there is a lot of Mii Fighter costumes from Bamco we are missing who could show up with her.

And finally there are two things that Sakurai supposedly said. One thing was about the character in question maybe not being as well remembered. I swear I heard that but I cannot place where. KOS-MOS hasn’t been relevant since 2006 with the third game came out. Since then she has made only cameo appearances, like Project X or Xenoblade. Incidentally I think all the cameo appearances she had were on Nintendo consoles, DS, 3DS, Switch, except the Soul Calibur 3 one.

Sakurai’s other line was how he loved the orchestra at the Game Awards. Now how could I read something into that? I didn’t stumble into Xenosaga just because blue haired robot girl on cover hot. I was big on classical music at the time, and the box advertised that the music in the first game was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. That was the selling point for me. Then I just got hopelessly addicted to the games themselves. So hey, the biggest reach out of all of these, but maybe?

So yeah, we do not know for sure who it is, but I am hopeful it is KOS-MOS

So now for my hairbrained hopes as to what else we’ll see.

Ultimate did... ridiculously well it seems. I can see (hope for but not expect) a bonus character happening too, like Piranha Plant, one that is free for a limited amount of time, perhaps if one also purchased the Fighters Pass, or whatever.

Now like Piranha Plant, it’s likely to be a first party character, since which company wants to offer something free through another company’s game like that? Honestly, I can see one company that miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Mainly because the company consists of a single person, and the exposure boost (plus money coming in once sales start not to mention a nice premium up front to sweeten the deal) in the West could be huge. And yes, my brain of course has to think of ZUN.

There has been rumors that a massive list of Touhou songs have been remixed for a project presumed to be Smash maybe. So here’s hoping for Reimu being that bonus character. (Or Reimu and Marisa in a tag team through Shadow Possession! Make the Daisy Hint be stoic Reimu with the thumbs up and chipper tomboyish Marisa with the peace sign next to her!) A pile of scrap metal can hope can’t it?

Granted, the bonus character, should there be one, could still be a first party character, and in that case, it might be time.

What time?

WAH! time.

Oh dear.

#super smash bros ultimate #touhou #xenosaga #i know nothing is certain but fuck this is all i have left let me dream

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sangriatimes · 6 years ago

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Nintendo Switch saves Valentines Day

Can you believe that we are almost half-way done with January? Maybe it’s just me and the countless hours I put into reviewing the latest titles for the Nintendo Switch...which is our focus point that can change the tide if you hit a hard spot this V-Day. Maybe you don’t have enough money for that dinner, movie and gift. Maybe you thought that restaurant you made a reservation at is more expensive than you though. Maybe you just started a new relationship but you still have some awkward silences that seem to kill the mood. Whatever the situation may be a Nintendo Switch can get you to second base and home plate...trust me.

So let’s look at some of the titles for switch that are great to play with that special someone. (Games are listed in no particular order; games are not based on “)sales”; Games are mainly hidden gems)

1. Monopoly | 9.5 out of 10

Hear me out. I was one that grew up playing the original board game with my family and the overall appeal of the game was astounding, but I lost interest when I got older and noticed how long it takes to make everyone go bankrupt. ...but this is something...otherworldly. The first awesome thing you will notice when you pick up this title is the use of the Joy-Con controllers to shake the dice and throw them. Though this is still the same mechanic in spirit as its predecessor but with the newly animated boards populated by Mii’s and watching a living city grow as you play and add properties adds an entirely new respect for Money Bags. Our team lost track of time having so much fun with this one and before we knew it, we had seen 5 hours pass. (No one wants to play Monopoly for that long.)

2. Uno | 8.5 out of 10

Uno is another one of those games I grew up playing with family. When I purchased the game, I was expecting some sort of controller mechanic similar to Monopoly’s dice...but with cards instead...but I was let down. None the less, going into this, I didn’t even know that there were so many ways to play Uno besides the normal rules. Once again, I was amazed at how much more fun this was than the physical cards themselves. Rules like “Stacking. Where Player 1 can play a “Blue Draw 2″ card and Player 2 can counter play a “Draw 2″ card as well. ...but if Player 3 doesn’t possess a “Draw 2″ card, Player 3 then has to pick all 4 cards from the previous turns” was so exciting to try and there are many other ways to customize rules and play styles.

3. Super Smash Bros | 9.0 out of 10

I really don’t need to go into detail about this one. My only issue with the Smash series is I would really enjoy a multiplayer adventure mode or campaign. I was quite pleased with the full roster of characters though. Disclaimer: Make sure your partner isn’t a sore loser. We all know about SSB’s steep learning curve for beginners. “Don’t be a butt...”

4. Diablo 3 | 9.0 out of 10

I remember having this title on my old PS4 and being able to enjoy it on my PS Vita while I was in a relationship with someone who liked the game as much as I and we would both take our Vita’s to the restroom with us so we could keep the experience going. This title can definitely be used to understand the mindset your partner has by the way they customize their character and the actions they take in response to events. It’s a top-down action-adventure-role-playing-hack-n-slash (inhale.) It is a port of it’s original released on PS3 & 360...the price tag is still $59.99. That’s a deal breaker in my book.

5. NES Emulator | 7.5 out of 10

I honestly chose this one because of how many gamers I know and how 89% of them are males. This is something for those who don’t game to get their feet wet. The emulator is free on the eShop for a 7-day trial but comes with a subscription cost after. Pretty inexpensive for the titles they have. Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Metroid, and many more. It even comes with special versions of some of the games which gives the player the experience of playing with Game Genie cheats.

6. 99 Vidas | 7.0 out of 10

Your probably thinking, “ Why is this even listed?” Well, just in case that partner your with doesn’t dig the 8-bit look or the low-res adventures of the NES Emulator and desires a little more action and has a fetish for Streets of Rage and Beat ‘em Up’s. Simply. The available characters are cool enough to get players to find a favorite out of them. ...so...that’s good!

7. Oh Sir...The Hollywood Roast | 8.3 out of 10

After seeing the Samuel Jackson clone named “Bad MotherHugger” who’s personality is totally canon, I had to dig deeper. If you didn’t play the prequel, you don’t need to. I honestly only used the first title to learn how to play. In this installment, you and a co-star face off on a movie set where your scenario is to insult the other the worst. It plays like a fighting game, complete with health bars, special insults, tag team insults and so much more. For the price it is, I was expecting something way less entertaining. Oh, and one point or another you will joke against a Deadpool copy...a less funnier Deadpool but funny enough.

Consider this the American version of The Office.

8. Oh Sir...The Insult Simulator | 7.8 out of 10

Obviously, this is the European version of The Office. I won’t say this is better than the sequel and I can’t say it’s worse either but I will say “I am an American...” What this game does is teach you how to layer your jokes and how lay the foundation for repetition in your topics to create combo’ s. I like to let the opponent bombard me with little weak jokes and build a super mean and super long insult that grants victory for only one joke. I call it, “The Kamehameha Effect!”

9. No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

The third installment to the series hits the eShop and retailers in a few days and I am super excited to get my copy. If you aren’t familiar with the series, let me fill you in:

Travis Touchdown is the protagonist of all three games. In NMH1 we find Travis at his lowest moment in life. Jobless, hopeless and drunk, he runs into a mysterious woman who offers him employment with a sketchy syndicate group he knows nothing about. Luckily he had lost all his money by winning a bid at an online auction for a Beam Katana, his main choice of weaponry. Not long after, you find out you were hired as an assassin in a shady game by her higher-ups. Travis takes the job after being promised some passionate TLC if he can take out all 10 of the already top ranking assassins all over the world. Travis is a pretty simple guy. He likes mecha anime, luchador wrestling, old school video games, porn, sex, and sleeping on the toilet.

In NMH2, Travis finds out that after becoming the #1 ranking assassin in Santa Cruise, he finds out that he actually has hundreds of more assassins in a new ranking system where Travis is the lowest ranking.

This time around, Travis is joined by the father of one the assassins he killed in NMH1, and the co-op option is something that would have been outstanding to have in NMH2 but none the less the developers always deliver great content in their titles and this one will not disappoint. Couples will enjoy the kinky nature of the series for sure. It has been proven many times.

10. Broforce | 9.5 out of 10

Every wanted to play Super Mario Bros on NES but with guns? Ever want to change Mario for, let’s say...any huge action movie star from the 80′s, 90′s, 00′s? Ever wanted it to be a co-op experience with up to 4 players with local and online co-op? As a mercenary for the USA, you are sent to 3rd world contries to liberate them from the evil control of Satan and his hell spawn. Before that, you will have to fight through waves of kamikaze soldiers, war dogs, giant helicoptors, aliens (...from the movie “Aliens”) and much more. Along the way, you will recruit an entire cast of badasses. From Rambo to Robocop, you will find Chuck Norris, Neo, Blade, Bruce Willis, Terminator, Preditor, Machette, Michelle Rodrigez, The Bride (Kill Bill) & so many more including Mortal Kombats Raiden.

Very easy to pick up, very hard to put down.

11. Nidhogg 2 | 8.0 out of 10

2D-Side Scrolling Fighter. You start of with a sword. When you die, you respawn with a dagger. When you die, you respawn with a bow and arrow. Die again and respawn with an ax. Die again and respawn with your fist. This cycle will continue until you our your opponent makes it to the opposing end of the map. Maps are relatively small and consist of about 2 to 3 different frames. Sounds easy on paper right?

Tons of laughs to be had!

12. Tales Of Vesperia

If your looking for an in-depth RPG you both can play while she sits between your legs and you both focus on the Switch screen laying in front of you: this is for you two. The co-op system usually only functions when you enter battle. Player 1 will always be the one running around the world map but this is still fine if you keep an open-mind and communicate on decisions that impact the story and more. (Keep track of your own money.)

side-note: All Tales games are co-op in this sense, even the Super Nintendo picks.

13. Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

I’ve been a Harvest Moon fan since Super Nintendo and got my first copy on the N64. I know a lot of people see this game and hate the thought of a farming simulator but unlike it’s counterpart with the same name-sake; Harvest Moon is so much more. This can easily tame the craving for an adventure-rpg-dating sim with a very rich story and characters that actually grow on you. I have not had the chance to play this particular version yet, but I saw it was multiplayer and that sold me. If you want to try a good yet cheaper version, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is by far, one of the best, next to Harvest Moon 64.

So there you have it, our picks of love for your love to love with their love! Honestly...I don’ t celebrate Valentines Day (poly-gang), but I love exposing partners to new things that they can enjoy together.

OUT!

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littiescorp · 6 years ago

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So @great-hero-yellow tagged me in this, so I gotta talk about my Super Smash Bros Ultimate roster. So let's go!

MAINS

1. Corrin

I'm not gonna lie, I suck at SSB. The only reason I'm any good, is this good good (broken, some would say) boy here. And my strategy with him? Button smashing and counter spam. Deadass, that's how I rock this dude. I've even beat great-hero-yellow with a well timed counter from him, it's that good. So yeah, this guy is my main and I intend to keep it that way. His only downfall is his recovery sometimes goes in the wrong direction and you can't move after using it, so I just watch him drift to his doom

2. Marth

Have you seen his white colored alt? It's gorgeous, and the reason I started using him tbh. And I'm not that bad with him either. His only downfall for me is he has no good basic down attack. I remember his counter when I accidentally trigger it, and I don't really know how to do Dancing Blade properly, but he's probably my second best character, and again, Damn that's a nice white outfit

3. Shulk

I love this picture, it's such a mood. A few months before his release trailer, I got into Xenoblade Chronicles, so I was thrilled when he joined the roster. Alas, he's a technical fighter that requires strategy and well timed movements and attacks. I'm no good at any of that. It was a rough go at first, but I slowly (very slowly) got the hang of him. When I die its most likely by spamming backslash, and then using one too close to the edge of the stage, and down he goes. But yeah, I like using him, he's alright. The Monado's defese skill is a blessing

NON-MAINS

1. It's me, bitch! (Mii Sword Fighter)

Yeah it's kinda lame, but I'm a sucker for self inserts. Also I love making Miis. So I made myself a sword fighter cause swords are cool (also the ninja outfit looked cool). They have a lot of personalization with their attack style, so it's fun to mess around with. Mine has a good recovery, a strong down attack, and even a counter. Side-b is fun, but I'm also prone to go flying off the edge of the stage towards death with it, so there's that, but otherwise I think I've built a solid Mii. If only I was good at the game to utilize it lol

2. Bayonetta

When her trailer dropped, I was enamored with her. She's beautiful, sexy, and sassy, and I love it all. Hell, Nintendo had to change the rating just to get her in the game, and her trailer had a warning for "implied sexual themes" which kills me every time I see it. And yes, I do go back and watch it every now and then to relive that glory. But again, she's a very technical character, and unlike Shulk I didn't get too good with her. I'm not terrible, and I can get off one of those long combos every now and again, and witch time is fun when I remember to use it, but her wicked weaves are hard to trigger and miss half the time so yeah. I mostly play them just to piss great-hero-yellow off because of the sleight her trailer gave to the Kid Icarus characters

3. Pikachu

Pikachu was my main in Brawl, and I was actually fairly good with him. He has a fantastic recovery, and let's be real, thunder spam does in fact work. But for some reason, I'm not too good with him in smash 4. Maybe that'll change in Ultimate, but for now I don't use him all that much, but I love him the same. Also, the emerald headband is the cutest alt, don't test me

NEW AND RETURNING CHARACTERS TO TRY

1. Snake

I played Snake a little bit in Brawl, and honestly it's mostly because of his ass (rip snakes ass in Ultimate). I don't think I was too good, but it's been so long since I've played so who knows. I'll probably try him out in Ultimate cause why not.

2. Isabelle

Look at her, she's so precious and pure. I haven't played much of the Animal Crossing games, I'm not too big a fan of real time based games, but even so I got excited when she was introduced to Smash, and I do enjoy her. Besides, who could fight this adorable face and not feel guilt? That's how I plan to play her

3. Incineroar

My boy is here. I chose Litten as my starter in the Alola games, and I truly loved Incineroar, so when I saw him kick that Ken dudes ass, I was overjoyed. He doesn't look like he'll be the best fighter tbh, with the slowest walking speed in the game, but one of his attacks does have a large smash radius, though I can't remember which at this time. But yeah, I love my buff bara cat, and I do plan on trying to use them. Besides, slow characters means I can't get too close to the edge, right? Right?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I do wanna try playing the Inklings, they're really cute. And Chrom, I'm so glad he's got his chance. Also, I did play a bit as Robin, but I'm not too good tbh. And I may try picking up Roy and Ike, I like their characters but they have pretty bad recoveries, so idk maybe I'll try again.

Anyways, that's my Smash Roster plans. If any of you want to go ahead and do this, feel free. I don't talk to many of my mutuals here, so I'm not gonna tag anyone, sorry. But tag me if you do this, I'd love to see others players, and maybe we can trade friend codes and play together when the game comes out

#littiescorp rambles #super smash bros #super smash ultimate #ssb #ssbu #nintendo

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smashmusicideas · 7 years ago

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April 5: Looking at the DLC Costumes

One of the more popular theories during the DLC period for Smash For was that the costumes released for the Mii Fighters would reflect characters who did well on the Fighter Ballot, being a way to honor or reference them without having to commit the full time and workload to create a character. It’s also worth noting that it seems as though the ballot will be looked at for this new game, at least to some extent. I’m not totally convinced it’ll be a guaranteed thing - we may not get any of them, save the Inklings - but let’s look at 'em. Deliberately cutting the original outfits, like the cat suits. I apologize for what will be a very long, and very low fi post, so I’ll be adding a “read more” tag here.

Wave 1 (I’m separating this one, as it was released on fourteen days after the ballot was released, making it very unlikely it was influenced by it):

Link Cap & Outfit

Majora’s Mask (likely made in part to coincide with Majora’s Mask 3D)

X Helmet & Armor

Proto Man Helmet & Armor

Dunban Wig & Outfit (likely made in part to coincide with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D)

Waves 2 & 6

Isabelle Hat & Outfit (Assist Trophy)

MegaMan.EXE Helmet, Armor

Zero Helmet & Armor

Inkling Wig, Outfit, & Squid Hat (confirmed!)

Akira Wig & Outfit

Jacky Wig & Outfit

Heihachi Wig & Outfit

K.K. Slider Wig & Outfit

King K. Rool Hat & Outfit

Flying Man Hat & Outfit

Chrom Wig & Outfit

Black Knight Helm & Armor

Lloyd Wig & Outfit

Samus’ Helmet & Armor

Toad Hat & Outfit

Viridi Wig & Outfit

Hunter Helm & Mail

Rathalos Helm & Mail

Fox Hat & Outfit

Captain Falcon Outfit

Chocobo Hat

Geno Hat & Outfit

Ashley Wig & Outfit

Tails Wig & Outfit

Knuckles Wig & Outfit

Takamaru Wig & Outfit

Gil Helm & Outfit

Looking over these, I think it’d be easy to make a few cuts. For one thing, I’m suspicious that we’d get more than one third party character per series, so we can probably comfortably cut the Mega Man characters, Chocobo, and Tails and Knuckles. We can also cut the Inking stuff for obvious reasons, along with the ones for fighters who already exist (I’m also ignoring the ones from the base game).

Majora’s Mask (likely made in part to coincide with Majora’s Mask 3D)

Dunban Wig & Outfit (likely made in part to coincide with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D)

Isabelle Hat & Outfit (Assist Trophy)

Akira Wig & Outfit

Jacky Wig & Outfit

Heihachi Wig & Outfit

K.K. Slider Wig & Outfit

King K. Rool Hat & Outfit

Flying Man Hat & Outfit

Chrom Wig & Outfit

Black Knight Helm & Armor

Lloyd Wig & Outfit

Toad Hat & Outfit

Viridi Wig & Outfit

Hunter Helm & Mail

Rathalos Helm & Mail

Geno Hat & Outfit

Ashley Wig & Outfit

Takamaru Wig & Outfit

Gil Helm & Outfit

Okay, we’ve cut this down a decent amount; let’s go further. Well, for one thing, I think we can cut Flying Man; EarthBound isn’t really likely to get more characters, and I kinda doubt they’d be high on the list regardless. On a similar note, let’s also cut Black Knight for a similar reason: being low on the totem pole for a series with a lot of characters as it is. I also think we can reliably say that Virtua Fighter won’t be contributing main characters, and neither will the first Xenoblade Chronicles, and if we would be getting a Monster Hunter character, it’d probably be the generic Hunter. Let’s also get rid of Slider, just because I think his shows on the stages is something that’s more than right for him. I also think we can reasonably expect to not see a playable Viridi or Lloyd, as well. And finally, cut Gil, because Tower of Druaga isn’t really as big of a thing. Still really happy he got a costume, though.

Majora’s Mask

Isabelle Hat & Outfit

Heihachi Wig & Outfit

King K. Rool Hat & Outfit

Chrom Wig & Outfit

Toad Hat & Outfit

Hunter Helm & Mail

Geno Hat & Outfit

Ashley Wig & Outfit

Takamaru Wig & Outfit

Now this is a far more manageable grouping! I’m not really sure how likely Skull Kid is (much as I’d love him in there), and I do think we could probably also throw out Heihachi, but this does have a few interesting characters, at least some of whom are well liked. Now, these aren’t confirmed by any means, but many of these are pretty well liked and at least somewhat wanted characters. Four of those characters are already Assist Trophies, two are part of another fighter’s moveset, and the rest are either third party characters or the very popular King K. Rool. I think it’s plausible that at least one more of these characters (with the Inklings being the first) will be upgraded to a fighter, and that more than a few might at least be in the game in some capacity.

Just remember that, as always, this is idle speculation, and we could see something totally far afield of this. We could see characters who did better on the Ballot but who weren’t on this list, or multiple characters from the same third party series. We don’t know. But I do think this is an interesting list.

(Link to my writings on Smash Bros for Nintendo Switch)

#Super Smash Bros.#Nintendo Switch #Smash for Switch #Smash Bros Fighter Ballot #Mii Fighter

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leoxirae-blog · 6 years ago

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My name is Mii and I run this blog! Don’t worry, this page looks intimidating but most of it is mainly written out detailed roleplay ettiquette so there is nothing to worry, most of it is very likely familiar to you anyway!

Be aware that I do hold on to my right of following and unfollowing as I see fit and that I do not do this to please anyone but my own self. This is a hobby to have fun. Any form of rule break or harassment will not be tolerated

Before we start

This is a hobby. I will repeat this a lot, but please remember that I have a private life and do this for fun

My muse is heavily Alternative Universe/ Altered Universe and I will rp it as such. Unless discussed prior I will see my own universe as the default for starters. That means that some things will be considered common knowledge. More about that you can find HERE

This blog has a few sidemuses. This correlates with the whole Canon Divergent/ AU state of the blog so you can read up on it here.

This blog has it’s own canon and updates will be posted under this tag and then updated on this page

Still aboard? Cool, let’s get to the rules!

I approve of this!

✓Send me asks about my muse and my opinions, even if we are not mutuals ✓Tell me about your triggers and your prefered way of them being tagged ✓Talk to me on an ooc basis ✓Hopping into my inbox to plot stuff! ✓Talk with me in private if you want pre-established relationships ✓sending in meme stuff ✓Sending me IC asks

I think this is ok!

☆ Dropping a thread if you can not think of continuing it, but please tell me about it ☆ Shorter replies when you don’t have muse or dunno much to write. The effort counts ☆ Remind me of replies in a time space of a week after the last. I have a private life but a lil reminder is nice. Just not twice a day. I have stuff to do ☆ Sending me an Ask to check out your blog ☆ Come and vent to me if you need someone to talk to ☆ Ask me to rewrite a reply or starter if you can not work with what I have written ☆ Controll my muse to an understandable amount. If I see a problem I will get back to you ☆ Harass my muse on anon until I say stop.

I rather not have this on my blog

♫ People telling me how to “run” my blog. There will be ooc posts and there will be inactivity. I have a private life as well and this is just a hobby. I will not apologize of running the blog like I want it. This being said, you’re welcome to ask me to tag stuff. ♫ I like critique, I live of it, but if you insult my character it goes too far. ♫ Asumptions that everything happens in one verse. This is a multiverse blog and therefore I will tag every verse accordingly so unless stated on the “story” page its all in different verses from the main. PLEASE STILL UNDERSTAND THAT THIS BLOG WILL STILL BE CANON DIVERGENT! ♫ Drama. Like I can not help stiring up some angst myself but should I come to actually draw a halt to anon drama or stuff I will say it officially ooc and then would rather not have more of the drama. It’s all fun and games until someone gets seriously hurt. Now that being said I do not tolerate any discourse and irl/ooc drama. Keep it far away from me. ♫ Please do not butt into an already consisting thread unless it is CRACK. If you want to rp on something existing please ASK FIRST. I may still refuse to let you answer ♫ Do not reblog my rp posts unless you are my rp partner of this specific thread. If you like a section of the rp I can repost it into a clean post for you to reblog and keepsake

YIKES

♤ We all got our own believes and opinions, I get that. But there is a fine line between discourse and a friendly conversation about opinions. If you are being harassed and defend yourself I get it, but some people can’t help but get at everyones throat they disagree with. If I see that shit I react quite harshly with blocks and stuff. ♤ I won’t fault anyone not wanting to have anything to do wioth me because of my opinions or beliefs, but if you “call me out” or try to make me feel bad for not engaging in your stupid social justice bullshit I will block you ♤ Just generally keep discourse and stuff to a minumum even if it’s real life shit. “But people need to know! Stop being a whiney privileged white asshole!” we are not going there again. I am here to have fun and forgot this shithole of a world and if you keep harassing me I will take meassures ♤ Any form of cringe culture is dead to me. If you keep harassing others or make fun of people you see “beneath” you, you’re blocked, bye.

ABSOLUTE DO NOTS

✘Force or guilt me into a ship and or rping. For the love of god I am patient, but this has happened and… not pleasant, no. ✘Bash my friends and or other rpers ✘Vague blog in general. I mean sure it happens and we all have our moments, but if it happens too often or regularly I will unfollow and maybe even block you ✘I beg you to tag your graphics and or graphic descrptions of spiders and cannibalism with the tag ‘spiders tw’ ; ‘cannibalism tw’ ✘Anon hate will be immideatly deleted. ✘If you happen to violate my rules I am always giving 3 strikes. I will give 2 warnings and one private talk to fix the problem but if all fails you will be unfollowed and blocked.

But please no matter what, don’t forget to have fun!

Rules 2.0

More Info

#[Rules]

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gameboyhamazing · 4 years ago

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Mii May Starts Today, With Our First Prompt!

And our first prompt issssssss......*drumroll noises*.... MAKER!

You can do whatever you like for these prompts whether it be an oc using Mii Maker, just a drawing of the interface, or, heck, you could screenshot Mii Maker and call it a day! (honestly this is the one prompt I believe using mii maker for would be cheating on but go for it if you want no judgement here).

And yes, the Mii Channel counts as a Maker. And yes, so does the Miitopia one. And yes, so does the tomadachi one. And ye-

#mii may #mii may prompts #just remember to tag it as Mii May so I see it!#fun stuff #prompts #wii #mii #mii maker #mii channel

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scrow9 · 7 years ago

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WOULD YOU HATE THE CANON 6D MII LESS IF YOU THOUGHT OF IT LIKE THIS?

The video and filmmaking communities have made it quite clear what a disappointment the recently announced Canon 6D MII was to them - the lack of 4K being the most prominent objection to the new camera body. Sony beckons to us, despite its lackluster color science - at least THEY give a damn about us DSLR video shooters, right?

I too was in that camp, but recently I began thinking all the way back to the heady days of November 2008 and the release of the Canon 5D Mii, the full frame camera most of us DSLR filmmakers really, REALLY wanted but few could actually afford.

So would the Canon 6D Mii leave less of a bitter taste in our collective mouths if instead we thought of it as an upgraded version of our beloved Canon 5D MII? But wait, you say, you are forgetting about the 5D Mark 3 and 4 models - I’m not really, but was anyone actually overjoyed with either of those two updates? Besides, I never formed any sentimental attachment to the 5D models that came after the Mii - in fact I doubt very many HD DSLR video shooters have either!

So I decided to put together a chart comparing the 6D MII to the venerable 5D Mii - just to see what improvements they made in the intervening 8 something years. All the data came from imaging-resource.com so cheers to them! (I will post a screenshot of the results right after this post).

First off, how many of you remember that the 5D MII cost $3,499 when released in 2008? The 6D MII comes in at $1,999 or $1,500 less. And for that lesser price, in the 6D Mii we now get:

* MUCH better and more varied video format options including 1080p at 60fps

* An auto-focus system that is really outstanding with 45 cross points

* A tilt and swivel rear screen that is touch sensitive and much higher resolution

* Much higher ISO range

* Better storage card options

* More, better connectivity options

That takes the sting out a bit, right? Of course, it’s fair to point out that it has been over eight years between the release of the two cameras so technology should advance and prices fall.

You may be wondering if I convinced myself...would I or will I buy the Canon 6D Mii? Actually, as shocked as even I am about this, I am leaning more towards the Canon 80D and its APS-C sensor despite my dearest wish that my next camera be a full frame. Still, the 80D is going to be a major step up from my trusty Canon T2i. (The 80D even has a headphone jack!) With the money saved by instead purchasing the Canon 80D I could afford two budget cinema lenses to go with it and I think that’s going to produce more cinematic imagery in the long run than just relying on a full frame camera body to get me to that quality standard.

In the ideal world, if I were to get a full frame camera, I’d probably prefer to have the Sony A7s II - but the $2,600 price tag is still too much of a sticker shock, sorry Sony - I could buy two Canon 80D camera bodies for that! Ha ha, kind of the same reaction I had to the 5D Mii’s price point back in the day.

Steve Crow scrow9 on TUMBLR

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canyouhearthelight · 5 years ago

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The Miys, Ch. 71

Thank you to @satan-parisienne for being my #1 beta reader and literally writing half this chapter. So many conversations between us are captured in their essence when Sophia and Tyche interact, but this was such a rare opportunity to transcribe such a conversation.

There are so many other people I want to thank, but if I thank all of you, this post would be literally just tags. So, I want to include @baelpenrose and @anotherusrname for also being there for everything that doesn’t make it into this story, and @charlylimph-blog for being the light and joy in the world that I wish I could be.

No worries, this isn’t the last chapter, I just had a really rough week from a mental health perspective. The show will go on.

At some point during the night, Xiomara vanished with the gorgeous artist. This left my sister, Charly, and myself to annoy Sebastian until the guys could come and rescue… someone. I wasn’t sure if they saved us or the poor pub-owner. All I could remember after Xiomara leaving was Charly deciding Conor was a good chair: intending to sit on her stool, she had unceremoniously climbed in his lap instead. After some wiggling to figure out the difference, she had pronounced the chair to be soft and warm.

With a snort of laughter that made my eyes water, I had to explain that it wasn’t the chair she was practically wallowing in, it was my boyfriend’s lap. With a very serious look at his face, she had only patted his beard and announced that she understood why I kept him since he was so comfortable and warm. That was the point when Coffey scooped her up, tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and took a still-waving Charly home, and everything else kind of blurred together.

As for myself, I woke up the next morning being tortured for my sins. Someone had decided to play a recording of a cement mixer over a looped track of a chainsaw, at full volume, targeted straight at my ears. Groaning in pain, I covered my ears and quickly realized I didn’t have enough hands to also cover my eyes. The chainsaw stopped abruptly and I felt the mattress dip to my left. I cracked my eye when an arm nudged mine. Maverick was handing me a cup full of something that was quickly snatched away when I tried to sniff it. He brought it back with a pointed look, so I placed my faith in him and chugged it.

If it smelled half as bad as it tasted, no wonder he wouldn’t let me take a whiff – only every shred of self-control I hadn’t exercised the night before kept the concoction my stomach. It tasted like analgesic, so I assumed if I kept it down, the hangover would go away eventually. That didn’t make the act of forcing it to stay in my stomach any easier.

When I no longer felt like my brain was trying to escape my skull through judicious use of a sledgehammer, I took a deep breath and braved opening my eyes. What little light there was in our bedroom was no longer cleverly crafted from sharp objects, and the cement mixer had been replaced by Conor snoring away to my right.

“He took the late shift to make sure you all got home safe,” Maverick whispered softly. “So I agreed to be the one to deal with your hangover.” When I glared at the empty cup he had taken from me, he shrugged and smirked at me. “Analgesic, electrolyte solution, and an anti-emetic.”

“No wonder it tasted like ass,” I grumbled.

Jokingly, he waved a hand in front of his nose before pinching it. “I think you’re just tasting your mouth, honestly. You really need to brush your teeth.”

Scowling, I ran my tongue over the inside of my teeth – and immediately regretted it. Did I eat a dead rat or something? I whimpered to myself before staggering to scrub the taste of whatever it was out of my mouth. After a rather prolonged date with my toothbrush as well as a shower, I managed to walk much more gracefully into the kitchen to get some coffee. Conor had already beat me to it, however, handing me a steaming cup as I walked in. He carefully ruffled my hair – I was still struggling with flashbacks – and bent down so I could kiss his cheek.

I pulled back and arched an eyebrow. “You sure you don’t want that kiss from someone else?” I teased.

“You would never believe how awkward that was,” he deadpanned, rolling his eyes. “Charly’s a nice girl, but I got my hands full with you two. Sides, she’s a bit much for me, you catch my drift.” He gave me a pout and tapped his cheek again.

Giggling, I obliged before going to sit on the couch and putting my head on Maverick’s shoulder. “Do I smell better?” I yawned before sipping my coffee.

“Much,” he exhaled gratefully.

I snuggled in further, now that I was granted approval. “Tyche make it home okay? I’ll admit I don’t remember much.”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Antoine took her home not long before Coffey came and got Charly.”

“They weren’t sneaky at all, you know?” As I said this, Conor walked in with a quizzical look on his face. “We knew you, Coffey, and Antoine were sitting in the opposite corner all night. Zach showed up later, hung around for a bit, so did Simon but he headed out kind of early.”

“You weren’t supposed to know,” Conor scowled comically.

“You and Coffey are the two tallest humans on the ship. Did you really think you were hiding? Especially with Xiomara at the table?”

“She’s got a point,” Maverick laughed. “What is it you always say? Xiomara has horse’s ears?”

Conor tipped his head back laughing. “I said I hadn’t seen her in a donkey’s ears, which just means a really long time. But yeah, I should have known she would see us. We figured she’d be on our side, not ratting us out.”

I buried my face in Maverick’s shirt, laughing. Sitting up, I wiped a tear from one eye. “Love. Xiomara was in the military and trained in hand-to-hand combat, and you don’t want to see what Tyche can do in a fight. She fights dirtier than mud. We were safe, I promise.”

“Let us worry,” Maverick pressed a kiss to my temple. “You don’t get to hog all the overprotective instincts, you know. And besides, if any of you ladies thought that Coffey wasn’t going to be watching Charly like a hawk, you’ve lost your minds. I’ve seen what she can get up to when she’s sober. Drunk? No thank you.”

“Speaking of Charly,” I adjusted so I was sitting straighter. “Galactic education starts next week. She told me she’s in one of the first classes.”

Maverick nodded. “Yeah, same section I’m in, I think. I didn’t recognize the teacher’s name, though.”

“At least that means we know it isn’t Simon,” Conor pointed out with a grin.

“Be nice,” I remonstrated. “Eino administered all his testing for certification, and he’s pretty impressed with Simon. Even in the practical observation, he did a great job.”

“Wait,” Maverick ventured slowly. “If this is a new curriculum, how is there a practical observation?”

Conor shook his head before reaching forward to squeeze the other man’s knee. “The educators have to go through the course before they can teach it, just like anything else. They’ve already been trained in how to teach, but need to know what they are teaching.”

I picked up from there with a nod. “Simon, on the other hand, is already familiar with the material but had to go through training to know how to teach. So, two birds, one stone.” Leaning forward, I flicked my wrist to bring up my datapad where everyone could see it. “Simon is one of three people who will be fully reassigned to teaching the Galactic education courses, while every other trained educator on the ship will be teaching one to three sections in addition to their existing coursework.”

“Nearly every other educator,” Conor corrected with a stern look.

“You sound like Tyche.”

“With good reason! You never told anyone you were a teacher!”

“Wait, what – “ Maverick sputtered, confused. “You were!?”

“One, I never actually taught on my own, I changed careers in my last year as a student-teacher. Two, I did tell other people! It just never really came up that often.” When Conor opened his mouth to object, I cut off the statement I knew was coming. “And I have mentioned it to the two of you, so I don’t want to hear it!”

Conor’s mouth shut with a click and realization dawned on Maverick’s face. “All those nights you were going through candidates to teach the courses… You kept saying you would make sure the program succeeded….”

“Even if I had to teach it my damned self,” I finished. “I wasn’t kidding. All I need is about fifteen more hours practical observation, according to Eino.”

“You asked?” Conor looked skeptical.

“Well, Tyche did,” I admitted. “Just because we were having a hard time finding enough candidates to dedicate their time to just that course.”

“I thought Alistair was a teacher?”

“Librarian,” I corrected. “Totally different skill set, believe me. I tried suggesting that he teach a section or two, and got an earful about the differences. Ironically, he gave me a lecture about how he isn’t trained to lecture?” Shaking my head, I finished off my coffee. “Anyway, we managed to find enough teachers, so courses should start next week.”

“We should celebrate!” Maverick grinned. “A big family dinner, since we kept it small for Insert Winter Holiday. Invite everyone!”

I started counting in my head and groaned when I hit the double digits. “Mav… that’s…” Xiomara, Zach, Hannah, carry the three…. “That’s fifteen, sixteen people? I don’t think we really even have room for everyone. Especially if we don’t want people getting overwhelmed.”

“You and Tyche may want to talk about a family dinner rotation.” I thought Conor was joking, but a look at his face told me he was dead serious. “When there were just five of us, it was one thing, but now? The dinners the two of you make are turning into the hottest table in town.”

With a sigh, I shot a quick message to Tyche to see if she was in the land of the living. Rather than respond, she showed up at my quarters, Antoine in tow and Mac staring balefully from her shoulders. “Hangover remedies are revolting, but work,” she proclaimed while making a beeline for my kitchen. Shortly, everyone was seated with a fresh cup of tea or coffee. “Now, why have I been summoned from my lair?”

I gestured to Maverick first. “Handsome number two had the idea to have a family dinner to celebrate the launch of the new education courses.” I paused for effect. “All of the family.”

Tyche sputtered and choked on her drink. “Where would we fit them all!? Neither of our quarters are anywhere approaching large enough. We would need a small mess hall, which kind of ruins the effect.”

“I agree. But I also agree we need to celebrate… what if we talked to Sebastian and took over the Undine for a night? It’s smaller, with dinner-style tables.”

She tipped her head side to side, thinking. “It might work.”

“Well, Handsome number one came up with another good point.” I gestured for Conor to explain.

“I just think you and Sophie should consider setting up a rotation for family dinners. Not just who is cooking,” he rushed to clarify, “but who you’re inviting. We love you girls ‘til the wheels fall off, but you adopt strays faster than most cat ladies I’ve met. Not that I’m complainin’, being part of that number!” He held up his hands in surrender. “But don’t you lasses think the ‘come one, come all’ approach is getting to be a bit much?”

To my surprise, Antoine nodded even more emphatically than Maverick did. “Sophia, Tyche, he is right. Only sheer luck and good manners have kept the two of you from being overwhelmed by your insistence on feeding anyone who arrives during your ‘family dinners’. Inviting specific people on specific evenings may be the best idea, while also considering keeping some meals to just the five of us.”

Before the objection could even bubble up to my throat, Maverick squeezed me against him. “I can actually feel her heart breaking.” Briskly rubbing my arm, he dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Sweetheart, you and Tyche both said it yourselves: If everyone chooses to drop in on any given Wednesday, neither set of quarters have room to accommodate that.”

Tyche heaved a sigh of concession. “Okay, I definitely see the point about the ‘just us’ dinners… I’ve really missed those, honestly. But, how do we decide rotations for everyone else? How are we supposed to make it fair?”

I sat bolt upright as her words hit me. “You. Are. A. Genius. I actually have an answer to that!”

The expression on her face was matched by the one Mac was dishing out when my exclamation interrupted his nap. “Okay… How am I a genius right now?”

“How to make it fair.”

“So, for bringing up the question?”

I nodded my head emphatically before gulping down the rest of my coffee. “Themes. We are going to set… five. Five themes. Culinary ones. We are going to set… five. Five themes. And anyone who has a standing invitation to dinner will be asked to rank them, one through five, and we’ll use that to set the rotation.” I grinned triumphantly as Tyche’s face shone with realization, but then looked at the guys.

All three of them were completely lost.

“Everyone except the five of us will get the list of themes… something broad. Not a specific dish, but a really broad type of food. They rank the five, with one being the absolute preference and five being ‘hey, not my favorite, but if Tyche or Sophia are cooking, I may give it a shot.’ The first, say, three people who ranked a certain theme their favorite get that, then the rest get their second choice, so on and so forth.”

“Ideally, no one will have to eat their fifth choice theme,” Tyche clarified. “Or even their third.”

Maverick hummed briefly. “So, say everyone picks the same thing for their number one. How do you decide who gets it?”

Tyche and I glanced at each other before I shrugged. “Honestly, the three who have the most restrictive dietary needs, are closest to us, and get along the best. If everyone picks the same thing for their first choice, it’s going to be something plain and probably vegetarian because that’s the majority of Derek’s diet and he has the most restrictive one. So it would be Derek, Grey, and probably Zach who got that one. Everyone else would then get their second, and so on.”

“But,” Tyche emphasized, “letting everyone pick the meals they would prefer makes it the most fair and easiest on us, because then we know what to cook each week. And there would still be meals for just the five of us, right?” She glanced at me, questioning.

“At least every sixth meal, but I would prefer after every three,” I admitted. “That gives us once a Terran month.”

“What about big meals?” Maverick pressed. “For everyone?”

I tapped my chin for a moment while Tyche furrowed her brow. “Quarterly?” I asked, just as she suggested “Birthdays?”

Ugh. Both made sense. “Well, our birthdays are three months apart, give or take a few years, so we could still do quarterly. I just figured the Terran equinoxes and solstices, because they align with pretty big Terran holidays in most cultures and religions.”

“If you went with that, it would mean we could have the option of quiet birthdays,” she pointed out.

“That’s what I was kind of thinking,” I admitted. “I mean, what if we don’t feel like peopling on our own days? We could still do that, in addition to the other four, but it wouldn’t feel mandatory.”

“I like it. That’s the solution.”

I grinned widely, happy with the compromise. Conor, however, waved his hand where everyone could see it. “For those of us who don’t have a mysterious psychic connection that even Noah says doesn’t exist, what exactly are your themes going to be?”

“Spicy, simple, protein, vegetarian, and soup,” Tyche and I answered in unison. While it wasn’t intentional, we managed to stifle our surprise and laughter to make it look like we had done it on purpose.

Antoine looked thoughtful before nodding. “That does, actually, make the most sense. Those are such severe distinctions, excluding the soup, that there should be no difficulty with anyone having a definitive preference.”

I thought about that briefly. “Yeah, I know ‘soup’ feels like a stuck on category. But I genuinely know people who hate it, and also some who will eat any soup or stew you put in front of them. It’s about the food touching, the flavors combining, and so on.”

Maverick was the one to back me up on that bit of information. “Derek will probably rank soup as either first or second, especially if you go by the strict culinary definition. For someone who doesn’t like mushy food, he practically loses his mind if you give him a bisque. It’s crazy.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #scifi #found family #aliens #original #original fiction #hope #love #earth is space australia #humans are space orcs

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canyouhearthelight · 5 years ago

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The Miys, Ch. 66

I am happy to report that this chapter has been beta’d, by @satan-parisienne. They didn’t tell me about any content I should tag, but if I missed something, please let me know.

Happy Thanksgiving Week to all my U.S. readers! Because of the holiday, I’ll have family in town, so there will not be an update next week on the 3rd. Regular updates should resume on Dec. 10th, so keep your eyes peeled.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was how tired I was. “How does that work,” I groaned as rubbed my throbbing head. “I was asleep for hours. Why am I exhausted?”

“You were lucid when you were supposed to be resting,” Grey answered as they came over to check my vitals and unhook the equipment from my little trip.

Tyche gave a grudging nod as she held a straw to my mouth. I drank gratefully, and grimaced. Whatever I was drinking tasted like electrolyte drink and medication. “Did you catch everything?”

Grey, my sister, and Antoine glanced at each other. Before they could say anything, a buzzing voice cut in. “There are gaps in the recording on your end, which were not unexpected. The implants are not designed to broadcast outside of your auditory processing center, and I can only perceive vague intentions.”

On my opposite side, I heard the sound of chairs clattering across the floor and my berth sank as two rather heavy people used it to push themselves to their feet. A string of curses in Japanese filled the air just before a thick, Irish accent boomed out. “She just let you drug her for ten hours so she could question a talking germ. While she is being constantly having her blood filtered to replace her hemoglobin so the same thing you want her to have a chat with doesn’t kill her. She is sick, she is dehydrated, she is exhausted. Your questions need to wait. She needs to sleep first.”

I held up a hand on that side without so much as glancing over, trusting that Conor would lean down so I could reach his face. When I felt a beard press against my palm, I stroked his cheek with my thumb. “Baby, they’re right. It’s fresh right now. People only tend to remember information for forty-eight hours without repetition. So, it can’t wait, unfortunately.” I finally turned my head and looked up.

Conor had not only pressed his cheek to my hand, he craned his head down so I could see his face easily. Tears filled his eyes, threatening to spill over. “Sophie. I know I’ve been an ass, but this is the second time you have been close to dying in less than so many years. And there is nothing I can do to protect you on this one…”

I tugged him down so I could hug him. “You’re sick, too. We all are. But answering questions isn’t going to threaten my life. I promise I will sleep after this.” I leaned as far as I could around him so I could see the scowling face of Maverick behind him. “You hear that? Sleep. Lots of sleep. After I fill in the gaps, I’ll sleep.”

Maverick turned one baleful, dark eye toward me. He considered me solemnly before nodding “I’ll accept that deal.” He stepped forward, coming to stand next to Conor. “Sophia, we just want to make sure you take care of yourself.”

I nodded. “I know. But sometimes, it comes down to taking care of myself, or letting myself suffer just a bit so that I can take care of everyone else.” Smiling ruefully, I reached for Maverick’s hand. “But that is a huge part of me. It isn’t going to stop. You both need to know that. If you want to talk about it, we can do it after I fill in these gaps and get some sleep.” Once they nodded in confirmation, I turned back to the medical team plus Tyche. “Let’s do this. What do I need to fill in? Point me at your gaps.”

Noah waved with one vomu. “Most importantly, where did Else come from?”

My stomach sank. “Right to the tough stuff.” I swallowed thickly and resisted the urge to look at anyone except Noah. “They said that we, humans, accidentally made them. Here. On the Ark.”

Every voice in the room rose, all at once. I rolled my eyes and covered my ears, noticing that Tyche had done the same. Sure enough, a high-pitched whine filled the room. Judging by the sight of Grey and Antoine hitting their knees and the vibrations coming from the other side of my berth, Noah had employed their own special brand of crowd control. Once the whine stopped, I lowered my hands and Noah gestured that I should continue.

Clearing my throat, I obliged. “Else is… childlike, almost. They don’t mean to hurt anyone. They know us. They… like….us. Like, a lot. They were so, so sorry about what happened to Nixe.”

“You said we made them,” Grey exhaled, trying to get everything back on track.

“By accident. Yes.”

“Did they know how it happened?”

Now I knew why Else had gotten so short with me. “I only know how I was conceived because I was told by someone who was there, Grey. Why do we expect Else to know any differently?”

They nodded, somewhat curtly, to indicate their concession to that point. “If we can determine out how it was created, we can extrapolate how to combat it.”

“That makes sen – wait. What do you mean, ‘combat’ it?”

“Else is a bacterium, specifically one that has infected the humans on the ship and can kill us if left unchecked. By definition, it is a plague.”

Tyche’s eyes widened, then narrowed as she whirled around to face the head researcher. “You mean antibiotics. As in, killing it.”

“Of course.” The tone was confused, as though this was the obvious solution. Being that they were the closest we had to a head of medicine, I suppose the solution did seem obvious. Except one critical piece of information…

Quickly, I flicked open my datapad. “Sophia Reid to Xiomara Kalloe. Xio, are you able to come down to my medbay? I need you, right now.”

“Ten minutes out. Do you need me to send Miys ahead of me?”

“Noah is already here, and there is no immediate threat.” Not to me, anyway. “I’ll see you in ten minutes.” Dismissing the screen, I looked back up at my friend and fellow Councilor already in the room. “Grey, it’s not that simple. Else is sentient. I’m pretty sure. Which means Galactic Law may apply, hence why I asked Xiomara to come.”

They blinked slowly. “The trials.”

“Yep,” I nodded. “She’s been digging into Galactic Law ever since then, to make sure we don’t get caught flat-footed again. If Else is sentient, we have to treat them as people under the law.”

“Couldn’t Noah have told you that?” Maverick chimed in, bewildered.

I shook my head. “Unfortunately not. ‘A similar species, regardless of what point of evolution, cannot make the decision if another species may be sentient.’ It’s to prevent sympathy from overriding logic.”

“Else is a bacterium,” Grey argued.

“With a hive mind.” I gave a pointed look at Noah. “Which means, if they are sentient, they could evolve into something like the Hujylsogox, given time.”

Noah made a gesture of confirmation, sweeping one vomu across its body. That seemed to settle the matter of Xiomara’s involvement, and we all patiently waited for her to arrive.

Finally, she breezed in the door as though her skin wasn’t ashen from illness. Defiantly of any perceived lack of health, she crossed her arms and braced her feet as she looked at us. “So, what’s the emergency? I could be lounging around with all I can drink Gatorade right now.”

Before Grey or I could say anything, Antione held up a hand to stave us off. “Sophia just woke up from her conversation with Else, and we need to know if you are versed in the Galactic Law regarding determination of sentience in a new species.”

Comically, Xiomara slumped slightly, hands dropping and mouth gaping. Almost immediately recovering, she cleared her throat. “I mean, yeah. I’ve gotten that far. It’s fascinating stuff, actually. But why?”

“They can talk.”

“Only with words previously used by you, and they do not retain the information.”

“Because several generations have passed for them! Humans don’t retain language for more than one generation if there is no way to use it or pass it on. You know this!” This argument came from my sister. Tyche was getting as upset as I was, apparently.

“And they re-learn it very quickly,” I tried pointing out.

“So do antique chat bots.”

“Except that Else demonstrates that they know what the words and concepts mean, and can retain internal logic of the conversation.”

“Which makes sense if it is causing you to hallucinate the entire conversation.”

I sent a pleading look at Xiomara, but she only tilted her head from side to side. “Speech isn’t necessarily a criterion, but even if it was, there is no clear determination that Else is capable of intelligent speech. That seems to depend solely on native communication.”

Damn it. I snapped my fingers rapidly, trying to think of a new piece of information, berating myself for getting into this position. Myself. “Self. Else demonstrates a sense of self. One independent of its concept of humans. It… they pled for their lives. They apologized for hurting us, and understood what that meant. Not only that, they corrected me several times on where they came from. Arguing demonstrates the ability to use logic, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Xiomara pointed out. “Conor argues with me all the time.”

“Hey!”

I glared at her. Now was not the time for jokes.

Apologetic, she held up her hands. “On the other side, though, sense of self as a separate identity from others, along with understanding of the concept of death, are criteria for sentience.”

“What are the rest?” I asked, hope flooding my voice.

“Do they have any subjective experiences?” she asked.

“I’m honestly not even sure what that means,” I admitted, close to tears.

“Opinions,” Antione supplied helpfully. “Experiences through their frame of existence and perception that they have opinions about unrelated to survival.”

I bit my lip as I thought. “The showed regret?”

“They also know we can kill them,” Grey argued, not giving up without a fight.

“They showed empathy?”

“So does your cat.”

Xiomara shook her head at Grey’s petulance. “Jury is actually still out on cats, so that’s not as definitive as you would like it to be. But empathy doesn’t count – even among humans, several psychological disorders prevent empathy, but that doesn’t mean those people aren’t sentient.”

“They asked me to stop reciting scientific papers?” I asked in a Hail Mary attempt.

“They had what they needed,” was the suggestion from our self-designated Devil’s Advocate.

“Yes and no,” I said softly, realizing something. “They found it annoying and boring… They also scolded me for using profanity.” Little things I had initially ignored rushed to the forefront of my memory. “They knew Conor only gave the catnip to Tyche because he thought she would like it. They knew Tyche loves me… they knew what that meant. And they actually told me how sick I was, the first time. I didn’t realize it, but they told me my face and hands were injured.”

“That’s what the nightmare was that made you scream?” Tyche demanded.

Nodding vigorously, I clarified. “When I first came to the medical bay, there was moderate cellular damage in my hands, remember? We didn’t think anything of it, because it was so simple to fix. But in the nightmare, my hands were a horror show. I never would have even had them scanned if it wasn’t for that nightmare. And the bruises around my eyes, from the anemia… they mentioned something was wrong with my face.”

“They told you out of self-preservation,” Grey supplied as the subsequent argument, but the staunch faith was wavering at this point.

“They didn’t know we were dying. Not then.” I took a deep breath. “And they make jokes, when I talk to them. When I asked if they were deliberate or accidental, they didn’t just tell me they didn’t know. They made a joke about my parentage. Which means they took offense.”

Xiomara took a deep breath and ran a hand over her hair. “Boredom, annoyance… being offended. Those are definitely opinions, and not related at all to survival.” I held my breath and prayed to any entity that was listening.

“By definition of Galactic Law, Else is sentient. Antibiotics are out.”

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